The trial has explored the effects of Cannabigerol (CBG), a lesser-known cannabis compound.
Cannabis has been an herb of medicinal interest for quite a long time. Researchers are just at the threshold of finding new applications for the plant. Cannabigerol, one of the lesser-known compounds in cannabis, is taking centre stage and may end up being the next CBD rival in the near future.
In a breakthrough human clinical trial, researchers tested how CBG affects anxiety and stress. The study involved 34 healthy participants who reported feeling significantly less anxious and stressed an hour after taking a tincture containing CBG compared to a placebo. An unexpected finding was that participants also performed slightly better in verbal memory tests after being dosed with CBG. Previous studies have shown that THC-or tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive compound in cannabis-is known to impair verbal memory.
Deservedly, CBG has come to be known as the "mother of all cannabinoids" because it easily and quickly metabolises into both CBD and THC. Unlike THC, however, CBG does not get one high.
Psychologist Carrie Cuttler of Washington State University and colleagues are cautiously optimistic about their findings but view it with concern that the surging interest in CBG repeats what happened with CBD-where the growing interest significantly outpaced the science.
As research unfolds, so do the possibilities that cannabis-based treatments offer. CBG, in particular, represents new exciting possibilities for therapeutic applications.
"Cannabigerol (CBG) is a phytocannabinoid increasing in popularity, with preclinical research indicating it has anxiolytic and antidepressant effects. However, there are no published clinical trials to corroborate these findings in humans. The primary objective of this study was to examine the acute effects of CBG on anxiety, stress, and mood. Secondary objectives were to examine whether CBG produces subjective drug effects or motor and cognitive impairments," write the authors in their published paper.
"It would also be interesting to examine whether CBG might offset the detrimental effects of THC on verbal memory, as CBD was initially purported to do, until multiple attempts to replicate those findings failed."